The Freeman Center is the latest cluster of buildings restored by Wells & Company. The Center includes the Freeman Building at 906 W 2nd Ave, and the red brick store fronts at 916 - 930 W 2nd Ave. Although Wells & Company normally prefers to use the original name of historic buildings, in this case they have renamed the group of buildings after Clarence Freeman, a pioneering African-American business man and civic leader born near the site.

The flagship building of the group, the six-story Freeman Building was originally built to have two floors of retail with four floors of warehouse above. The original wide-open spaces have never been altered, so the charm of the loft space is intact. Each floor has 4700 gross square feet with about 4100 sq ft of usable space. The space will be sold as office condominiums, and Wells & Company will do a build out to the buyers' specifications.

The upper four floors all have exposed brick walls and high ceilings. The top floor is especially charming with an exposed beamed ceiling and arched windows. Most of the windows are new --- double paned for insulation --- but they look exactly like the original. The ceiling on this level has an amusing and obvious slant. The slant is part of the original building design. The building was constructed so that the seemingly flat roof slanted sufficiently dramatically toward a drain to carry off rain and snow-melt.

Lower floors have ceilings and floors treated with sound absorbing material. Except for that treatment, floors three through five are little different from the top floor. The original flooring was soft wood, and wear and tear has left them gouged and splintery.

The first and second levels will have finished walls, and the second level is somewhat smaller than the upper levels because of new fire safety egress. Wells retained the original amethyst-colored glass tile windows on the second floor, but replaced the large display windows with insulating glass.

Peters & Sons florists will move into the ground floor retail space. The new store will have soaring ceiling covered with original decorative pressed tin. There will be a large walk-in cooler for flower display, and plenty of display space for Peters & Sons platoons of bears and plush toys. The store will open onto Lincoln Street at S 170.

Only the physical structure of the Freeman Building is still old. According to Spencer Stromberg, Property Manager, each floor will have two units for heating and cooling. "With ten tons of air conditioning per floor, it will never be too hot in the summer," says Stromberg. A new high-speed elevator has been installed, along with all new plumbing and bathrooms, electrical, and fire sprinklers. Fire exits have all been improved --- some built new --- and the building has a state-of-the-art detection system. "The building is old on the outside, but inside, it's essentially new," says Stromberg. High speed connectivity has not been installed yet, but because it is across from Steam Plant Square, optical fiber is available, and line-of-sight wireless technology is available from a number of different vendors. According to Stromberg, what is brought into the building will depend on the condominium owners'needs. "We're very excited about this," says Stromberg.

For more information, contact Spencer Stromberg at (509) 951-9525, or e-mail spencer@wellsandcompany.biz. Or contact Ron Wells at (509) 954-6940. To learn more about Wells & Company, go to: www.wellsandcompany.biz.